Scott went back to the early days of The GC
The second archive podcast of the week revisited Gemma Collins near the beginning of her rise through *The Only Way Is Essex*.
Scott had noticed her from the scene in which she was selling cars and talking about wanting a man who could properly order the wine.
The interview caught Gemma at the point where television fame was arriving quickly but her old working life was still close enough for her to switch straight back into it.
Russell Tovey accidentally activated car-sales Gemma
Actor Russell Tovey had tweeted asking whether Gemma could find him a BMW 1 Series in gunmetal grey.
That was all the encouragement she needed.
Gemma explained that she had spent around four years selling cars after beginning as a receptionist and later training through the BMW Academy.
She was proud of how good she had been at it and immediately began talking like somebody who could still close a deal.
The glamour of TOWIE had not erased the salesperson.
If a celebrity wanted the right BMW, Gemma was ready.
Scott had already experienced an Essex night out
Scott also remembered going out with Gemma in Essex.
The evening began with the sort of directions only a local night out could offer: meet near the McDonald’s in Brentwood, have pre-drinks and then move on to the club.
Once inside there were fireworks, complimentary bottles and the full Essex-night-out treatment.
Scott found himself being recognised and surrounded outside afterwards, which let Gemma explain how quickly her own everyday life had changed since appearing on television.
People now stopped her for photographs in situations which, not long before, would have been completely ordinary.
Getting ready was an event in itself
Gemma described the preparation for a night out as a proper ritual.
There was a bath, creams, rollers, bronzer, perfume and an outfit prepared in advance before the pre-drinks even began.
It matched the version of Gemma viewers were beginning to know on television: big nights, big confidence and no interest in making herself smaller for anybody else.
At the same time, she talked about health and fitness and said she could love her curves while still wanting to feel healthier.
She still wanted the fairytale
Marriage, children and the full princess fantasy were all part of Gemma’s plan.
There was even a tiara.
She was still living with her mum and could talk about celebrity life one minute and home comforts the next.
That mixture was a large part of why Scott found her so entertaining.
She could make a trip to a nightclub sound like an event and then immediately return to very ordinary Essex details.
Hearing herself on Radio 1 felt like a milestone
One of the most revealing parts of the interview was Gemma remembering the first time she realised Scott had been talking about her on Radio 1.
She was in bed watching her pink television when a friend alerted her.
The radios around the house went on.
For Gemma, being discussed on Radio 1 was a sign that something had genuinely changed.
After the excitement, she calmed herself down in the most Gemma Collins way available: with a Chinese takeaway, including salt-and-pepper squid and the accompanying extras.
The archive edition captured The GC just before she became a permanent part of British celebrity culture — still able to remember the exact point at which hearing her name on the radio felt enormous.
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